Park and Violet (3 page)

      She looked at him with deep suspicion. “Why are you going to do that?” Violet patted her pockets threateningly. “I have a weapon here, you know.”

      Park snorted. “Lip gloss?”

      “No. Pepper spray.”

      He rolled his eyes. “Ooh, I’m scared!”

      “Yes, you should be. Here, try it!” And before he knew it, she was lifting a pepper spray can and getting ready to spray.

      Park took a step back even as he knocked her hand away. “Are you crazy?” he yelled. She had him fucking square in the eye with her pepper spray! One accidental press and there would have been hell to pay.

      Violet smirked as she bent down to pick up the pepper spray off of the ground. Returning it to her pocket, she said smugly, “See? I told you it’s an effective weapon.” She grinned at the look on his face.

      Park scowled. “If you do that again, I’ll dump you in the farthest district of Japan and leave you there.”

      She sobered at that, knowing he could very well do it. “Spoilsport,” she said sullenly.

      “Spoiled brat,” Park shot back.

      “Korean blond gorilla,” she spat then paused when a thought occurred to her. “Why do you sound Korean when you’re obviously not one?”

      “Adopted,” Park answered honestly, easily.

      Violet started. “Sorry.”

      “Don’t be. I’m lucky with my family.”

      She snorted. “I bet they’re not lucky with you.”

      Park made a 180-degree turn. “That’s it. Good luck with—”

      “I’m sorry!” she cried out, panicking. “Can’t you take a joke?”

      “No,” he said. “So don’t bother with them when you’re with me.”

      Behind him, he heard her say under her breath, “Freaking Yeti.”

      “Heard that already,” Park taunted and began walking. “Are you coming or what?”

      There was one or two moments of silence before Park heard her footfall. She came to walk beside him. It almost felt like they were dating. Park nearly shuddered at the thought. No. This was not a date. Not at all. He was just being nice.

      He gave her a hard look. “I’m just being nice here, okay?”

      She made her eyes go wide with him. “This is you being nice?”

      He was not going to laugh. That might make her think they were close–and they were not and never would be. With a deliberately insulting tone, he said, “I just want to make it clear in case you’re thinking of going after me.”

      Unfortunately, what was normally effective in making girls run away furious, embarrassed, or crying just made the banshee next to him roll her eyes.

      He looked away before the banshee could catch his lips twitching.

      As they resumed walking, Violet was unable to help but steal a look at the guy next to her. “What’s your name again?”

      I’m not insulted, she told herself. It wasn’t her fault he had a bad memory. “Violet.” She dragged the name out.

      Silence.

      “You?” she asked finally, hating that he had made her ask. Nordic-Korean-gorilla-asshole. Seriously! She would never lack for words to describe just how much of a jerk this guy was!

      Keeping the smile off his face, knowing he had pissed her off, he grunted, “Park.”

      They walked in silence again. Now that Violet knew she wasn’t going to be lost anytime soon, she allowed herself to relax and enjoy the scenery. At ten in the morning, the streets were not that crowded, giving Violet the chance to take in much of her surroundings. All the wonderful shops she had seen in Japanese magazines were really here!

      Whimsical cafes where waiters and waitresses served as butlers and maids, the absolutely adorable photo-printing booths she was itching to try out, the themed stores where she could buy the most amazingly cute souvenirs for her family back home–Violet would have jumped for joy if she had been alone.

      She really was in Japan, she thought to herself giddily. This had been #1 in her travel wish list for ages and now she was finally here.

      It was just too bad that had to happen for Violet to come here.

      She frowned, not liking where her thoughts were heading. Why she came to be here didn’t matter. What mattered was that she was here–and would be here for two years.

      Two years!

      Violet grinned to herself.

      The guy next to her came to an abrupt stop, and Violet had to walk back. He pointed to the gray building to their left, behind the huge wrought iron gates and with a flowered driveway leading to it. “That’s it.”

      Violet was suddenly nervous but she did her best not to show it. “Oh. Well…thanks,” she said awkwardly. She flashed him an uneasy smile. “I promise I won’t bother you after this.”

      “Riiiight.”

      Violet was indignant. “I won’t!”

      “Good luck,” Park said instead and turned away.

      Thirty minutes later, Violet had her registration papers and class schedule. When she stepped out of the building, she saw Park sitting on the steps.

      “What are you still doing here?” she exclaimed.

      As he uncurled himself and got to his feet in one fluidly graceful motion, Violet reluctantly admitted to herself that her less-than-polite dorm mate made a breathtaking sight. He really, really should have looked gay with the way he dressed, but if anything his choice in clothes only made him look like he had just stepped out of a fashion shoot. He definitely fit right in with the rest of Japan’s fashion scene.

      Park dusted off the seat of his pants. “I knew you’d get lost on your way back.”

      “I wouldn’t!” Unlike her older sister, Violet had no problems with lying if it meant saving face.

      Park’s eyes bored through hers. “Yes, you will.”

      God, he was such a jerk. No guy back home would have argued with her like he did. All of them would have let her get her way, and that was what she was used to, not this. Violet released a loud hmph, but didn’t say anything else. Just for today, she’d call for a ceasefire.

      They started walking back.

      After a while, her conscience started nagging at her. She hated owing favors. “I guess I have to say this,” Violet said finally.

      “Not if you’re acting like it’s going to kill you,” Park drawled.

      “Just shut up and let me do this!” she snarled.

      Park turned to her, smirking. “Go ahead then.”

      Please God, please–just let me smack him in the face before I die? Inhaling deeply, Violet choked out again, “Thank you!”

      Park laughed. “Just remember that you owe me.” He stopped laughing when he saw her suddenly smiling at him, so angelically he was suspicious of it. “Stop looking at me like that. What is it?”

      Violet’s smile turned into a full-fledged grin. She had just realized something absolutely incredible. Oh, that laugh said it all. This guy–this Korean Yeti, this Nordic ogre-slash-gorilla–this guy was a softie inside. He could try denying it until  his dying breath, but Violet had spent too much time flirting with boys back home not to understand a thing or two about them.

      Sure, he was the nastiest and rudest guy she had also ever come across, but still.

      For several flights of stairs, Park had carried her suitcases for her–and she knew for a fact a baby elephant weighed less than those two.

      She had disturbed his sleep twice, but he still ended up walking her to school.

      And he had waited for her, even though they both knew he totally didn’t have to.

      Violet gazed at him ponderingly.

      “Stop staring at me,” Park growled.

      She ignored that, still smiling.

      Her two years in Japan had just gotten more interesting, and she liked it.

Chapter Three

      Bang, bang, bang!

      Who the hell—

      Park jerked the door open. Then he had to look down because his uninvited guest was none other than the small spitfire that had lately been plaguing his mind, invading his dreams, and making him take cold showers more often.

      Violet beamed up at him. “Good morning!” She pretended not to notice that
a)
he was wearing just his boxers again, nothing else, and
b)
his dick was saying good morning back at her in the most obvious way…again.

      Park was gnashing his teeth at her.

      Oh well, what was new? Yesterday, that look sort of hurt—even though she’d never admit it—but this time she just took it in stride, especially knowing what she knew about him.

      Her eyes narrowed when she noticed the dark circles under his eyes. “You look awful,” she murmured.

      Her words just made Park gnash his teeth more.

      “See, Violet,” he began sarcastically, “Normal people knock like this.” He rapped his knuckles moderately on the door. “But crazy people knock like this.” He rapped his fists on the door, recreating the banging sound that had gotten him out of sleep. For three consecutive times now. Not that the banshee seemed to care.

      Violet’s smile didn’t even dim. “Good thing I’m not crazy then,” she chirped just before bending and wriggling under his arm to get inside his room.     What the fuck?

      Park whirled around to see Violet looking over his things with great interest. “Violet!”

      “Park!” She mimicked, but she was smiling again.

      She stood in the middle of his room, a beautiful black-haired witch his dick was telling her to take against the wall. It felt so right having her with him in the room. She looked like she belonged in his room, and it unnerved him.

      Park immediately pointed to the door. “Out.”

      But the hard, unwelcoming tone of his voice was lost on her.

      She gave him another smile. “Nope.”

      Park couldn’t believe she was ignoring his command just like that.

      Before he could snap at her, she was already speaking again. “Your place is so neat,” she remarked as her fingers drifted on the spines of the books stacking his shelf in alphabetical order.

      “Yours is a mess,” Park retaliated.

      “It is,” Violet admitted cheerfully. She batted her eyelashes. “Wanna help me clean it up?”

      He looked at her like she was crazy. “No.”

      She said confidently, “You will.”

      Gritting his teeth at her tone, Park pointed to the door again. “Out!” He gave her his most frightening scowl, the one that made girls in his class initially believe he was one of the foreign members of the Yakuza, which was basically Japan’s equivalent of the Mafia.

      Violet almost cringed at Park’s scowl but caught herself in time. No, she was not going to change her mind about this. Last night–her first night away from home and alone in Japan, Violet had come to an important conclusion.

      Park was going to be her friend, whether he liked it or not.

      “Out!”

      Violet just gave him another shake of her head.

      Park closed the distance between them. “Last time we met,” he started.

      Violet gave him an encouraging nod. Thank God he was finally willing to talk sensibly.

      “Maybe, I gave you an idea—”

      “That?” she asked helpfully.

      “We’re friends—”

      She brightened. “Oh, yes!”

      Park looked directly at her and said, “Well, you’re wrong. We’re not friends.”

      That made Violet’s smile waver but she hung on to it with all her might. “We have a bond—”

      “Which just ended
Now
.”

      Her smile wavered even more. “There’s nothing wrong about being friends—”

      “If the other person wants to be friends back, and I don’t.”

      Argh! That did it! Losing her temper, she reached out to pull his hair. Hard.

      What the—Park tried to pull his hair away but she didn’t let go. Fuck! It felt like she had managed to superglue her hands to his hair. “Let go, Violet!”

      “Not until you listen to me!”

      In retaliation, Park twisted around so he could face her–and pinch her cheeks. Hard.

      She shrieked. “Stop it!” She instinctively tugged harder.

      Park winced and increased the pressure on her cheeks in revenge. “Not until you let go of my hair!”

      They glared at each other.

      “At the count of three.” Violet’s voice was grim.

      “One,” he growled.

      “Two,” she growled back.